Peter the Younger

Not to be confused with Peter the Lame.

Peter the Younger (Petru cel Tânăr)
Prince of Wallachia
Portrait from the Church of Snagov
Reign	1559–1568
Predecessor	Mircea the Shepherd
Successor	Alexandru II Mircea
Born	1547
Died	19 August 1568 Konya
Burial	Greek Orthodox Church in Istanbul
Spouse	Jelena Crepović
Father	Mircea the Shepherd
Mother	Lady Chiajna
Religion	Orthodox Christian

Peter the Younger (1546–1568) was the ruler of Wallachia between 21 September 1559 and 31 May 1568.

He was the eldest son of Mircea the Shepherd and of Lady Chiajna and was named "the Young" because at the moment of crowning, he was only 13.

After the death of his father at 21 September 1559, the boyars try to take the throne of the family. Between 25 September and 24 October 1559, three battles took place between the boyars and the remaining family of Mircea the Shepherd. The first battle, from the village Românești, was won by the boyars, only to lose the second battle, of Șerpătești. The decisive battle took place at Boiani where, Peter, helped by the ottomans, won. On 24 October 1559, he was confirmed by the Ottoman Empire as the new ruler of Wallachia.

Peter the Younger established the Plumbuita Monastery in 1560 and continued his father's work on restoring the Curtea Veche church and the Snagov Monastery.

Trying to get hold of the riches of the family, the Ottoman Empire, through a representative, managed to send the prince in exile along with his mother, Lady Chiajna in 1568. Peter the Younger arrived in Constantinople on 31 May and was taken to the Seven Towers fortress, where he was stripped of his riches. On 19 August 1568, Peter the Younger died of poisoning at only 21 years old.

References

• Academia Romana (2012). A History of Romanians. Vol. IV (2nd ed.). București: Editura Enciclopedica. ISBN 978-973-45065-2-1.
• "Petru cel Tânăr", from Enciclopedia Romaniei